Why Ada's Yell
by CheveronChick
Summary: While visiting Rivendell, Thranduil comes across a very young Aragorn sitting in a garden alone. In a bush. Thoroughly miserable.


The little creature's cry was subtle but noticeable nonetheless, even if he could not actually see specifically where it came from. But that did not mean that Thranduil did not have an incredibly educated guess about its whereabouts.

Even without asking the trees.

He stopped on the garden path he had been leisurely making his way down, lost in his own thoughts while he waited for Legolas to return from whatever horrible and dangerous activity he and the twins had decided to spend their afternoon doing. He listened. A few more dejected sniffs reached his elven ears.

As far as he was aware, there was only one Imladris resident that was young for the sound to have belonged to, Estel. The tiny human child that Elrond had taken in and Legolas had fallen so thoroughly in love with. The one who seemed to spend a good portion of his days hanging off of various elvish limbs with a bright smile painted on his face.

Turning in a small circle, Thranduil looked around for anybody that might be nearby so that he might alert them to the child's distress. But there was no other person around. Not even along any of the higher walkways.

Making up his mind, he began a slow and measured approach towards the bushes that had never before made any human noises until this moment. He stopped in front of them, and could just make out the faint outlines of a human boy sitting with his knee's drawn to his chest and tears on his face.

Thranduil knelt down and pulled one of the branches to the side so that he could see Estel's face, "It does the wound in your heart no good to cry alone. It just makes the hole feel bigger and more lonely."

Deeply sad eyes turned up to him and Estel wiped his nose on a shirt sleeve, "'Dan and 'Ro are gone with Legolas."

"And what of Lord Elrond? I personally have never received a hug from him, but I have it on good authority that they're quite enjoyable." He kept his voice nearly impossibly gentle, and expression softer.

Estel cast his eyes downwards, "Ada's upset with me."

"Ah, I see." Thranduil shifted so that he was sitting in the dirt instead of kneeling above it, "Is that the reason for these big and watery eyes?"

The child rubbed at his nose again, "Yes."

"Your Ada will not stay angry with you, little thing. Ada's never can."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely certain. I can't stay angry with Legolas and I am much better at being angry than your Ada, and I have more practice at it." The tears were finally slowing down, and Thranduil grabbed at the bottom edge of his outer robe and held it against the child's nose, commanding, "Blow, please."

Estel complied, and Thranduil adjusted the fabric to a new and clean spot, "Again." Satisfied that the child could breathe through his nose again, Thranduil dropped the hem of his robe.

"Even if he yelled at me?"

At this information, Thranduil raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of Elrond being much of a yeller, even when he had good reason to yell. "He yelled at you?"

"Yes." The absolute misery began to creep back into his voice, and it wavered just slightly.

Without a thought, Thranduil held his arms open in a silent invitation. Estel scrambled out of the bush and into them without hesitation. He held him close for several very long moments before the child pulled away a bit, just so that he could see the elf's face.

"You know," Thranduil began, absently wiping the few tears that remained on Estel's face, "I think the only times I've yelled at Legolas was when I was very scared, and not angry."

Grey eyes grew wide with wonder and questions, "But you're an elven king! What would you have to be scared of?"

"My son getting badly hurt."

"But why would that make you yell?"

"Well, because fear is a very 'big' emotion. It can be very overwhelming, and its hard to convince your body to let it go. Unfortunately, yelling is usually a pretty good way of getting rid of it."

"Oh. I see."

"Mhmm." Carefully he moved his arm to pull a few leaves out of Estel's hair, before returning it to its spot in holding it across the child's back, "Do you think your Ada was scared today? Or do you think he was angry?"

Estle appeared to be deep in thought about the subject, and so he gave the child room to think it over. He could wait as long as was needed, there was no rushing such comforts and lessons.

"Scared." Estel finally said in a small and guilty voice.

"I think so too," Thranduil agreed, "I also think that your Ada feeling just as badly about having yelled as you do. Worse, probably."

"You think so?"

"I do. He loves you very much, you are very dear to his heart and soul. He does not like to see you upset, especially at his own doing."

Estel nodded in thought, mulling this new information over a few times. "So what should I do?"

Gently plucking a pink flower from the grass next to him, and Thranduil tucked it behind the child's ear. Pleased when it brought a fresh smile to his face, "What do you think you should do? If you were your Ada, what would make you feel better?"

"Hmm." Estel grunted, scrunching his face tightly in thought. Again, Thranduil gave him time to think, occupying himself with rubbing soothing circles on his back. "If I were Ada, I think I would like to know that I'm not upset with him because he yelled at me. I don't want Ada to feel bad too."

"I think you're correct, so what are you going to do?"

"I should go tell him that I'm sorry for breaking his rules, and I'm sorry that I scared him. I didn't mean to." Then he turned hesitant eyes to Thranduil's face again, "Do you think he will believe me?"

"I am absolutely certain that he will." Thranduil purposefully said without a seconds hesitation, still also ensuring his face remained as pleasant as possible. "And will you believe him when he tells you that he didn't mean to yell, and that he feels badly about it?"

"Yes." Estel agreed readily, "I will always believe what Ada tells me."

"Good." Gently he bopped one finger against Estel's nose, like he used to do when Legolas was small, "Remember that sentence for the rest of your life."

The tree's whispered warnings to him that Lord Elrond had entered the garden and was making his way towards where the two of them were sitting. Adjusting his grip on the child, Thranduil removed him from his arms and placed Estel softly back onto his feet.

"Your Ada is looking for you," He tipped his head towards the direction the trees were telling him the Lord was coming from, "Why don't you go and give him a really big hug, hmm?"

"Okay!" Without a second thought, Estel raced away down the path to go see his Ada.

Thranduil calmly stood back up and resumed his walk, in the opposite direction of Elrond. The Lord of the Valley needn't know about any of this.

Smiling softly to himself when a few snippets of Estel's incredibly rushed and sincere apology reached his ears, Thranduil sluffed off the outer robe that had been converted into a tissue and hung it over a tree branch that offered itself.

**.0..**


End file.
